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@nerys

“…I adopted a pattern of thinking he was always going to bounce back….

You’ve expressed that better than I ever could.

indeed, the idea that they are the protective parent; they’re organised & practical – your dad was obviously all those things & more – leads us to think they’re almost indestructible.

Thane was thinking along these lines himself yesterday- “dad’s old but he’s fine, he’s always fine, mum: sure his memory’s a bit worse but maybe he’s been like that forever [nope!]. He still plays soccer with me, he must be fine.”

Mr Puro’s memory since retirement has worsened considerably & a lot of it’s down to  no routine. He likes to drive us places (so Thane & I don’t have to)  & watch westerns & other series with which he must catch up  (like Foyle’s War…for the 9th time).

Thane prefers to think he’s the same man he was when Thane was 7 & his dad ran laps, age 63, at the local soccer ground. Now Thane nags him to ‘find’ time for just 10 mins.

speaking of driving, I hope you have a good playlist you can sing along to during your travels to perhaps ease nerves …

@janetteb not sure if you’re watching Foundation (Asimov) on Apple TV?

When I bought my mobile phone I had 12 months free Apple telly which was fun but ABCiview has The Newsreader with Anna Torv in a perfect Aussie accent. William McInnes (must be 60+) is very good.

love to all, Puro & Thane. xo

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@dentarthurdent

yes indeed time will heal these things. Thank you so much.

@nerys my deep condolences regarding the death of your father – yes,  people with chronic /persistent illnesses or are vulnerable are most at risk and often the stipulated cause of death is the most recent. In your dad’s case, pneumonia; but as you say, long Covid is the most appropriate description.

its fingers follow and wrap around us and even those with relatively mild cases have taken to Zoom or Ytube to explain how their energy is sapped: everyday rituals- from making tea or toast and brushing teeth – suddenly exhausting, causing them to return to bed, sometimes- many times- self nursing.

Being a silent participant at your dad’s funeral would’ve helped you (I also saw mum’s on Zoom and the funeral director’s voice was muffled; the eulogy stuttered over with mispronunciations littering the entire thing – but it was _something_ to ‘hang’ on to. He was probably very busy and Zoom may’ve caused  nerves). And you’re right, Nerys, he was your dad and ensured your protection.

Thank you for mentioning the “how could you know?” feeling. You’re SO right but I know I’ll go over this in my head for a while – I should’ve called more, written often, sent more cards etc but I always thought there was something else to do first. For me, it’s a good lesson.

safe travels @nerys.

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@winston

thank you. I appreciate your kindness as always. Yes, you’re quite right, time is necessary. Here, more than most places, we understand this. 😉

my concern was that I could have/ should have  seen her but in very early March we didn’t predict any of what transpired. I guess it’s ‘do what you can when you can because no one knows what’s around the corner…’

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@blenkinsopthebrave thank you. And congrats on citizenship.

@winston the cookout story is amazing!

@nerys

wow, those are some great but nerve wracking experiences. I have had a few quite similar ones.

I wanted to express my concern about the health issues your mum & step mum are experiencing and the long exhausting trip ahead of you. I really hope you can enjoy some quality time with them.

Covid has affected family relationships, including end-of-life situations terribly. Melbourne has been a state with the longest lockdown rate of any state in any country.

In March 2020, I managed to return to Brisbane from 2 months holiday in NSW where I wanted to visit every partially man made beach pool. I’d seen a telly series on Australian pools, particularly those built adjacent to famous beaches, with waves soaring over the top during high tide and dumping delicious cold water onto swimmers  closet to the sea edge.

I missed the one in Newcastle-apparently the largest-  as airports were quickly closing. I found the last flight into Brisbane and as the airline implemented social distancing, I had a seat in business class!

The point of this tale is that Melbourne also shut its doors where mum had recently moved into a nursing home. In September 2020, she contracted Covid and died a week later. She was very old with a number of severe immune deficiency ailments and had explicitly retained solicitors to ensure she wasn’t ventilated. She’d  been missing her eldest brother who died a month before & my dad who’d died 4 years prior. I think she was ready to pass on and we understood that.

We obviously couldn’t attend funerals so someone read my eulogy for her which we all saw on Zoom.

But I spent the last year wishing I’d shortened the vacation to see her – even my brother said he’d drive with me lying across the back seat (with Crohns I can’t sit for more than 1 hour) but I thought “nah, I’ll go back another time” but there never was any.

You’re doing what I wish I had done myself and I blame myself every day for not taking up my brother’s offer. But your trip, solo, sounds much longer & more tiring @nerys so I really hope you don’t run yourself ragged & that you stay well.

Maybe you can look in on Forum for us to see you made this extraordinary trip safely? I know both mums will appreciate everything you’re doing.

All our love, the Syzergy and @thane16 (the latter, in the timey whimey world, is still 16 altho he’d argue he’s nearly 20 😁 )

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@dentarthurdent

as I know others & @janetteb is already aware, @missrori has been told “advice,” stories and help many, many, many times.

None of it is followed. It reappears every few months when people suddenly show up again.

 

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@nerys

unforgotten is brilliant!

Also, another comedy/drama (possibly genre switching) is The Good Place.

– one of the best shows I’ve seen in a long time of that nature.

puro and Thane❤️❤️

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@dentarthurdent I think in lurking above I suggested a Western inclined literary tonality?

we’re more disposed to something western than Chinese, Russian or Korean.

It’s a predisposition. The amount of posters from Western countries could be evidence of this. Naturally it’s available in many other countries but how we interpret the Show, deal with its idiosyncratic tendencies, is Western. From a music thematic perspective, the Long Song, say, & the Companion’s themes, use Western tonal ‘values’ too.

Then on tech, one thing latches to another. I was thinking of Clara asking 11 to “app” the Christmas turkey. 😁

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@dentarthurdent

I lived in the States awhile- East Coast. I found Americans very reserved where I was. It was uni & most people were tired but further down in NY, people weren’t rowdy or lacking subtlety.

but the English are spastic in their telly too sometimes: loud, snarky, incredibly fast talking & sarcastic. At times. I love American telly as much as I do English and Oz telly though.

deep Breath is great isn’t it? Funnily enough I also saw Day of the Doc & read the pages here. Whoo. Rough times. 🙄

I saw Eleventh Hour two weeks ago, & yowsa, that was “brilliant” too.😊 I think 11’s was “brilliant.”

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@winston thank you for the telly info.

I need that! I’ve been watching Schmigadoon which is sweet & hilarious. ❤️♥️

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I think some American humour is brilliantly clever – Eli Attie of House, Westwing , newsroom – does a great job & as you weave your way thru House he’s like (ahem) a version of the Doctor.

The humour in the US Leftovers was stunning & also frightening.

perhaps we’re looking at a “Judeo/Christian/Gallifreyan” undercurrent  mixed with modern western literary tonalities.

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That’s good news @nerys from @dentarthurdent….Mr Blenkinsop….Lady Winston:

I think all the Doctors since the Gap have been terrific in their own way. Took me awhile to glimpse the Dr in Ecceleston but with some stonking great scripts I was properly scared.

Tennant really opened the series to everyone. series 5 with Smith & the Ponds was fairy tale gorgeous & Capaldi in Listen & Flatline was brilliant.

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Charlie Watts died at 80 .

as The Stones played a shadow role to the Beatles, & I’ve often seen the former’s turbulence as outlandish, misogynist but never equivocal or ironic, & whilst I still loved ‘em (sometimes), I liked Watts’ Quintet, & his role in those comps, & in his drawing & art, more.

He was a really clever swing musician; a sardonic guy, a tad more subtle in that life than in the Stone’s personality (except for his 40s when he  danced with heroin & coke).

& he loved Charles (Bird) Parker <i>&</i> Mingus.

😔

 

 

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@nerys

as @dentarthurdent also said paper is good. Paper is wise! I feel secure with a printout knowing it’s going to be there no matter what I do. My doctor sends blood test authorisations & prescriptions to my phone; never mind them being crumpled or tea stained.

I’ve deleted all of them at different times!
♥️❤️

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@nerys

i absolutely agree the system is cr@p! When talking abt negative Covid 72 hour tests when flying if they have to be on your phone. Cross country plans are expensive & if I was travelling , to avoid Roaming fees I’d probably leave the phone at home.

@dentarthurdent is right though. You should be able to upload a test result.

or take a photo of it? Or is the photo easily ‘doctored’/not proper proof? You don’t want to be driving for 2+ weeks either & yes, bizarre, that driving is different to flying -with documentation. You’re all ending up in the same place…mixing in with everyone else,  ultimately. Gah!!

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@winston

sorry to hear about this . I can understand the heat & its energy sapping. & the DeltaV is awful.

We’ve idiot protests in Brisbane & Sydney as DeltaV cases in the latter increase.  ppl have parties & wander round maskless with (fake) doctored letters (I wanted to try that joke) resisting masks. 😡

been reading many comments on the Capdoc season starting with Magicians/Witches Familiar. I’m half way thru the Woman Who Lived. Boy, were there wonderful theories. And  what a bumper season….

I noticed my own incesssnt blather about how Clara was born under a clock . Jeepers, I never left that alone!

But Clara was reborn in the hospital room in Arcadia. If gallifrey ain’t a giant clock, metaphorically speaking,  I don’t know what is.

Still, I’ve also enjoyed the Whitaker (sp) run….

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@winston

the Fez story is luverly & reminds me of something Doctor 11 would do to help a young child….

@dentarthurdent

Big tick on Serenity (yes, there’s a River too). NOT selling DVDs? Sounds like a supermarket deciding to stop selling fruit!

agreed. Streaming🙄🙄

at one point I had Apple (free for 8 more weeks), Shudder (about to not be free so cancelled); Disney (also binned), Amazon (keeping at the mo because of House and Who) AND Netflix

so eventually we’ll keep just the one. Disney had, for awhile, a raft of add-ons  and where I saw Angel again. It was also $7 but a price rise this month caused the sudden binning.

I also realised I’d stopped reading & facing permanent stupidity & possible budget ishoos, thought better of all the streaming.

but if it gets you thru Lockdown…..

still, The Nevers looks to be on Binge so I might take a 3 month offer for that.

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@dentarthurdent

on westerns have you seen Whedon’s “Firefly.”

a space western with 14 eps & BRILLIANT. 9 major characters all dancing onto screen with a full set of backstories rarely seen in telly series – even in Who (barring S5 with our Ponds).

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@oochillyo

I rewatched The Day of the Doctor. 11Doc laughs at bit at Tennant’s “I don’ wanna go” which prompts the tongue in cheek comment,  “he says that a lot.” 😁

@dentarthurdent

Yes, rewatched The Only Water in The Forest Is The River arc & recognised it wasn’t ‘backwards’ but that River & the Doc met out of sync? Hence syncing diaries & the question by River, after a deliciously long pash: “you’re acting as if we’ve never done this before?” [they hadn’t].

I saw it as a meandering glitchy timeline focussing on a complex love & River’s greatest fear- the Doctor’s death & hers didn’t frighten: “There’s a far worse day coming for me, a day when he doesn’t know me at all.”

I realised Darilium from The Library, hadn’t happened perhaps showing the “backwards” arc …wasn’t…

But Moffat wouldn’t leave that dangling, much like the “run you clever boy & remember” ‘signal.’ A reminder to us.

@janetteb

How’s it all going? The outbreak in Sydney’s awful. Maybe its premier should’ve acted as speedily as QLD’s LGA once Delta hit the largest city. But then I’m reminded of 35000 cases across the UK on 13/8 (aaand I could be wrong about that stat)…I think your govt has acted appropriately- but then we get few updates about S.A?

d’ol’Puro.

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@janetteb me too! thank you…❤️

I will have a chat with you later on that pub or sofa thread….now I have to clean the bathroom…😔

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@blenkinsopthebrave

yes! Unfortunately what you’ve said is correct.

for a long time, I thought something was wrong with me because I couldn’t face Inception.

It was inspired, apparently, but I felt dull witted. Spoilers ahead……

there’s a type of bad rap called Mumblerap, & Tenet is SO incredibly murky sounding & the voice tracks so muted & banged up, the definition applies here too.

It’s certainly clever and I LOVE clever, but it’s a lecture about time travel where the actors claim it isn’t: just a small matter of inverting time, preventing the entropy of any living thing or object so with incredible effort, one meets the ‘thing’ before it dies & there’s a collection of soldiers who work within this world, training backwards, in order to complete The Mission.

All of eternity is at stake, all of the known universe, but never did I actually care.

Remember the terror of all the stars going out in Bad Wolf? Then later, the Doctor says to Amy, calmly & with a sober certitude, “does it bother you that your life makes no sense?”

THAT was gripping because we loved Rose & Amy. As well as poor Rory who Amy couldn’t remember because his existence was shattered.

But no lectures were necessary, just “timey whimey” & I used to think this was a Moffat hand-wave when it could also serve as a reminder of what’s important- who you lose rather than the mechanics of why: Nolan didn’t deliver on that aspect, unfortunately.

I love good cinema effects but only if they grab me, emotionally such as with Nomadland. No Daleks in the millions or 10 minutes of backwards/time inversion fighting & bullets flying backwards. In that way it was like The Matrix.

I remember how Doctor 9 saw just *one* Dalek.

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The inverted concept comes from a film on Netflix, a Christopher Nolan movie, Tenet, which was pretty awful.

I love timey whimey worlds,  cleverness and complexity as much as the next person, but if the characters seem cold and …dead, I can’t relate.😁

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Indeed in the timey world he be 16…

In the chronological, non inverted anti-entropy world, he’s 19

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@macca

normally, I welcome newbies but I haven’t been around in awhile, so welcome.

You mentioned whether people would read your stuff?

If you try paragraphs, it’d help. As a good friend once told me, they’re your friends. 😁

I’m in my 50s and disagree with some of your analysis and I checked in with my son and his friends who are 1-2 years older and they loved the show post -Tennant.

Moffat’s tenure from the opening scenes with Smith til the last episode with Capaldi is roundly considered the best in this household but it could be a minority opinion in the big Bad Wolf World.

This site was formed because of the complexity within Moffat’s stories, and an undeniable energy or forward progression within plots and character arcs.

Personally, any story captivates when the relationships between people are investigated by the writers and intuited deftly by new actors. The love between Amy and Rory was genuine and no amount of timey-whimey whimsy would’ve encapsulated the whole if the love story remained unconvincing. Even standalones like the Van Gogh tale broke our hearts all over again.

Whilst I thought Tennant introduced much needed energy into the role, he wasn’t my favourite. The stories were good, at times. Some in the Donna era – the Vasta Nerada; the spectacular Tennant/Rose/capt Jack: “are you my Mummy?” and in Martha’s era, our first look at the Weeping Angels.

My biggest concern was the love ‘triangle’ in space: Rose loves the Doctor, he loves her, then Martha loves the Doctor, he can’t reciprocate.

My favourite character, though, was Missy as the new Master. How did you find her, compared with, say, RTD’s Master?

Anyway, check out some of the posts on Smith/Capaldi on the different Forum areas and enjoy. There’s also great posts on the Tennant episodes. Hope you find what you’re looking for.

Kindest, Puro.

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@blenkinsopthebrave

I tried to contact Craig couple weeks ago via email about passwords etc aaand no reply.

point is, I hope he’s OK.

So, Forum be rocking! 😉

puro.

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our dearest @nerys

Condolences and love from the other Aussies, the Puro fam. I’m so, so sorry to hear about your dad. It seemed like he had a life, well lived, which is fortunate.

And I’m sure he was very proud of you  -as well. And that matters too.

Quick visit this one, but hope for a longer one after I’ve watched the Who special & to wish everyone in the DrWhoForum a belated happy new year.

Puro and the dudes.

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@janetteb

and all the South Aussies (&, as always, the Sydney siders) we’re feeling your pain in Brisbane. We’ve been insanely fortunate in many cases. “cases” had a different tone to it now.

Thanks to those who got in touch when I mentioned my late mum. I realise it looked as if Puro had passed away but nope, I’m still here & we’re doing OK.

At the clinic, though, I was asked “have you been to Adelaide or been in contact with anyone from SA?” I did a “who? What?” as hadn’t kept up. One day we all ignore Adelaide, 😉 & another day, it’s suddenly all we’re talking about!

Welcome to all new members… And to @nerys Also hope dad improves. Crosswords sound better than day time telly which can be miserable  -except for his football which is certainly OK (not that I can understand American footy, or any football, to be truthful). I thought The State of Origin was Aussie Rules but it’s Rugby – apparently an embarrassing mistake.

& @blenkinsopthebrave …(We are) Living Nervously sounds like a superb newspaper Op Ed title.. Alongside side the Poem For Sunday   😀

@arbutus?!! Where art thou?!

Puro & Thane.

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@blenkinsopthebrave doesn’t it? How are the Blenkinsops? Well? The wine cellar depleting at all??? 🙂

@mudlark GOOD to see you! I wonder about the futile & litigious nonsense Trump will follow could help so that the Reps will eventually melt away? On another note, glad your digestive system is working! A happy bowel is a happy Mudlark….

So, news. Mum died of C-19 in a nursing home in Melbourne. It took a week from diagnosis to death so, boy, does this hit hard. But she was 82 & not entirely well so asked for no special measures to keep her hanging on so we’re all good. There was grief. But it was checked. Almost.

House has been renovated…the yellow door became a RED door & when I can successfully work my new phone I might put up a picture of this. It isn’t a toffee apple, more steel red.

Puro.

I think we all need some Doctor (Who) now, don’t we?

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@winston good to see you out there!

@oochillyo welcome to Forum

@blenkinsopthebrave @nerys and… humour be good 🙂

We’re all still rumbling along in Brisbane with restrictions eased, then returned, then eased…then…then… It’s like a Tardis really. Evolving, regressing, retreating, re-reading. Or re-treading.

@winston we’re also doing lots of “ing” things. You do have to use your head, don’t you, to find new things to read, watch, meditate on & endure. I’m eating. That’s my big vice…gaining weight which is irritating…In Sydney, in March, I exercised & swam each day. The water was pretty cold for Sydneysiders -18 degrees on the best days but I loved it. In QLD, now, all pools are mostly closed. So I resort to the new pond & the hose. My pond has no ducks. Where have they  gone? 😉

@janetteb we have summer already up in Bris, But I’m glad you’ve some sun flooding the garden.

If anyone has Disney, or want to, perhaps treat yourself to the fabulous Hamilton. An extraordinary must-see, imo.

-Puro the Age-d

 

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So…..I thought I’d start in the pub…And as you know I love all animals, cats, dogs, Gretchen….

Has anyone caught the German series Dark?

There’s a Gretchen loop. Tonnes of clever stuff. I can’t actually understand much of it but it seems plenty can.

Old Syzygy. Or is it Syzygy always & forever…

 

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Ya’ll know I pump out some Bowie, from time to time, But I thought I’d post this which I saw on telly yonks ago.

There was a big argument on telly last night as to how influential Lil Richard was…did he start rock ‘n’ roll? Probably not, exactly, but boy did he influence Lennon, Jagger, McCartney’s solo career, Elton, The Cure, The Clash. The Stooges, Tracy Chapman, Johnny  Cash…(& I only referred to 1 female artist. Aint enough!).

How you be going @whisht?

Old Syzygy.

 

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@whisht. Man, I knew this was coming!

I had that feeling. 🙁

Tutti-Frutti was something I danced to with my mum when I was younger. Everyone loved it.

 

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@miapatrick oh jeepers, I shouldn’t laugh about The Brain and Me! You should must write a novel! You put up with a hellava lot & still make jokes? Amazing. I hope you chase up those darn urologists. Widening the plumbing….sounds somewhat painful 🙁

@whisht Ah, the boy will survive. Thane The Boy Who Lives (a bit much?).

Denmark? DENMARK?? Exciting? Terrifying? Anticipatory? Is that a word @cathannabel @blenkinsopthebrave?

@whisht What can I say, that seems even further away from us all  🙁

@winston @cathannabel. Absolutely, we already lived in a world of flat platforms & video phones. Now, we can’t touch or sit around a fire -the ways we connected emotionally in the past are postponed & it’s achingly sad for so many who have little access to peaceful group-care -if that concept has a name. Winston -paddling on a canoe sounds divine. I now have a pond. Not exactly large -looks like a shallow well, actually, but it’s peaceful. 🙂

Mr Blenkinsop I’m so sorry to hear of your brother with Alzheimers. That is often hard on those left behind. I wish I had something kinder, or better to add. It’s, well, “shit” as @whisht might say. I might find a song for you!

@missrori  Turns out the house might be painted….grey now. Yup, I know. A yellow door is apparently very bad karma with grey but I won’t give up. I’ll man the barricades & sing…Yellow Submarine. Or…something.

Old Syzygy.

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Julian Cope, a musicologist, thought Kraftwerk & the not-always-so-related Krautrock were like Chinese Whispers to the Brits. He suggested Kraftwerk was misinterpreted outside the German music scene -to the extent it lost its flash.

Judging by the spread of Kraftwerk  -Johnny Marr was riveted, for example- I don’t entirely agree with Cope. Legend Conny Plank was one effects master for Kraftwerk using a type of electronic (non conventional- instrumental) flanging.  Plank also died of cancer (’87).

Kraftwerk listened to lots & admired Le Caine:

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Bowie said people who get music get silence. I’d heard that before -from Hockney the painter.

Something radioactive. It kinda fits.

• This reply was modified 3 years, 11 months ago by  syzygy. Reason: Kraftwerk science

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@missrori  @whisht

Absolutely great advice from Whisht & others. it’s true: life aint fair. I’m real lucky that due to Crohns I have “self isolation down pat” -as my niece said when COVID blew in.

That was just after devastating fires where thousands of people & animals were displaced. Entire towns with huge histories gone overnight even though they’d just rebuilt from fires scarcely 8 years prior & then COVID hit.

But Aus has been fortunate. Most in Queensland already practise social distancing. I remember in Europe & U.S. how people came right up to my face to talk & I’d be “whoa, step back!” Good music. Good telly, a book you can lose yourself in helps.  Its hard to count your blessings. I’m pretty sick, my SO retired early; & our son has been looking for work for 5 months, every day. Out for hours, walking into businesses.

It’s depressing but each night he checks out a (probably rude af) comedian so we laugh a lot & consider ourselves lucky we don’t have Corona. We sanitise like surgeons! Now we’re concentrating on painting the bedroom -after a long debate I decided bright emerald isn’t the best choice… 😉

In the end I’ve chosen pale mint with a silk taffeta curtain in aqua. Now the exterior of the house is also needing a paint – blue & white, but the front door? That’s going to pop! It’ll be bright yellow. Now, this is the part where I need advice!

What do you reckon @missrori a bright yellow front door? I have some brass exterior accessories -a coach light & a brass door bell over 100 years old. I think the people in our area aren’t going to like a bright yellow door?

Anyone happy to give advice -@JanetteB (you were from the 1st state to take Corona seriously) @nerys @winston @mudlark  @miapatrick. I hope, Miapatrick, that you & your partner are doing OK?  I’ve been very worried about you after reading your last post a while ago? @cathannabel too.  @everyone else:  you’re ALL in our thoughts in Aus.

Old Syzygy.

 

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Ah LOL, I meant teaspoons not tbs -unless you have a super huge pizza. In most cases, too much cheese is unattractive leading to a high fat, doughy tasting pizza, a la Dominos or Pizza Hut.

Other brands are available 😉

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@janetteb  @blenkinsopthebrave

But I wanna photo!! 🙁

I have a rather stunning pizza to share in the pub. Should Child know how to operate old phone & computer we’ll have PICTURE to accompany the pizza recipe.

Make  pizza dough -or buy it! I can add, later, the recipe I follow which is relatively easy.

Add tomato paste (or home-made sauce) but in a small quantity only. In fact, as this is a cheese pizza (with a light layer only!) a tomato base isn’t the best. A light olive oil works well with no added salt for this topping.

Add 4 cheeses.

My own includes gorgonzola, parmesan, ricotta and gruyere (between 6-8 tbs of each, with slightly less of the stronger flavoured cheese like the Blues*) Add a little olive oil to taste and bung in oven on pizza setting (or normal whathaveyou) for 15 minutes so the bottom, which is nice & thin, browns just a little. A pizza stone really helps for this but most ovens have a removable tray which can be lightly sprayed.

It’s very flavourful & probably best for The Olds rather than young ones though ours has been brought up on this stuff & actually enjoys it.

*If gorgonzola is too much & other blue cheeses don’t take your fancy,  use mozzarella, making sure you strain it so the wateriness doesn’t seep into the lovely dough. You can mush it through an old tea-strainer, though small strainers at your local can be a pound or less. A piece of cotton around the cheese will also ‘squeeze’ out excess moisture.

Whilst good ricotta at your supermarket is the fresh sort, a number of larger proprietors make a decent one. It may also need to be dolloped on your pizza a half teaspoon at a time.

Enjoy!

 

Goes down with a simple white or a light Bordeaux.

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@blenkinsopthebrave

Gawd, my keyboard! 😀

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Boy am I gabby tonight!

I get that Piano Man aint on The Stranger album & many of you might like that particular album. So….I’ll leave you with this one…

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I had no luck @craig. Knew Newell Penfield was born around this time…like you…but a leedle bit later (in days, I mean). Unfortunately his string quartet whilst on a cassette deck & spooled out right now just aint on youtube. He wasn’t a particularly gifted composer but I liked his stuff. So happy birthday.

I’ll see what else I can rummage in…

 

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Soooo. People. I’ve noticed a complete absence of Piano Man. I mean The Great Pianist Joel.

I was on the way to the doctors (can’t really go any place else) & the radio had some Billy. It made me smile & then other people, in other cars, were on the same station, singing away. Most of these people were in their 50s, but still…

I give you him:

Syzygy.

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For no reason at all my Netflix feed had Flatliners listed. I thought “ah, at last, I remember I liked this scary film” except they’ve re-made the darn thing. Worse with that English dood from Granchester except he’s in America. Why. Do. They. All. Have. To Try. “It”. In. America??

I remember the Welsh dude (this is a terrible post!) who played Hornblower? (Gruffidd??) who starred in an awful apocalyptic movie (the character died) and then came HERE to star in some weird-ass series about a pathologist living in his boat cutting up bodies by day & sleeping with various coppers or pathologists by night.

I shouldn’t poke fun, really. But he does over-act on camera. Whenever there’s a scene with his daughter, he say “oh Bubba” & get this sad face on. Honestly? I can’t help but laugh. Possibly hysterically.  I am not being mean because Hornblower was CLASS! I loved it. I think I’ve seen the boxed set/series six, maybe, seven times.

Golly, wrong place! Akh! I’ll go find the music thread. Because you PEOPLE never ever play this dude. And you should. At least once.

How are ya’ll holding up?

Syzygy the Old.

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@rob

You must always gird your loins when speaking with lions. I recall an exam question in the defunct Naplan Testing  asking for definitions/explanations of girding one’s loins. Some answers included: lock the zoo permanently; keep the lions in a separate cage; always wear Y-fronts; consider the holy, naked body as a temple &, ironically, stand many metres from others people. Hope all IS well on all fronts, Rob.

@whisht good to see the music. I was in Sydney for quite a while & managed to board one of the last flights home on Monday afternoon which deployed social distancing. I had 12 seats to myself as did most others. Normally this would be thrilling.

@winston Good to see you about Forum. How’s the Buffy watch? If you’ve started yet.

@miapatrick I’m SO so, sorry to hear this about your partner. Worrying about it makes things even worse & trying to relax is almost impossible. As @blenkinsopthebrave said & I echo, I admire you for your scrupulousness, your evident patience, care & love.

You have mine.

Old Syzygy

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Getting into The Good Place big time, lately.

So, this for fun….

And….this

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@cathannabel  @winston It is a soulful piece. I hope it adds a small measure of comfort and the knowledge that we love you.  Solace isn’t always easy to find. Sometimes it’s in a familiar burst of confidence but nearly always it takes time, measure by measure, to find peace.

When I was young it was just a cool song that I liked but now it is a story that affects me very emotionally. The older you get the more loss is a part of your life and there are so many people “I wish were here” Since feelings are the stuff of life..

Absolutely, I feel this way too! Feelings & emotions, life, sorrow, death..these are the stuff of life. To feel emotions, to admit them in, to examine them, is part of a life well lived.

It doesn’t lessen the pain but it might show our children that you can’t negotiate with  emotions. They’re like the main ingredient of a good meal. I think as we age we feel, differently & yet the distance between objects & memories seems closer. I’m reminded of my mum in claustrophobic conditions, in the grip of an exigent nightmare, almost convulsing with nausea. The act of my dad’s broad hand, covering her own delicate one, removed the burden & she’d be renewed with strength, her face normal in colour; breathing, rhythmic.

As the years passed, she’d admit that relying on dad like that, was OK. That he had his own very well camouflaged (albeit ‘patrician’) fears & eventually I summoned the ability to help her when dad, now quite ill, was no longer the acutely confident person she’d married.

I mimicked his tender glance, my hands trembling over my mother’s & in that moment, we both felt fiercely honest, our lives no longer separated by time; two help-meets one for another.

Syzygy the Older One. 000xxx

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Not sure if @pedant posted this? He nudged me earlier about Arvo Part. So Da Pacem…

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Great to see all this music!

I love this song, but this week it has resonance for a dear friend.

 

Thane16  (old and young Syzygy)

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Hi to all the clevers around about! I’m on this new & improved diet & when I look up “rye” bread it says rye is made from rye grain, & the thicker or darker part of the wheat grain. But I thought rye is a totally different grain -from wheat, like soy or corn?

Does anyone know about rye bread? I’m trying to have a varied diet & eating a lot less carbs & more protein. I can still eat grains, but much less: once a day, for instance.

We’ve always had healthy food & I was never allowed to be “fussy.” But Mum always cooked so I should learn. My mates couldn’t believe I couldn’t make hot chocolate when I was 14 but then we didn’t have it in the house – just warm milk & honey.

Syzygy the young one.

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@peacefrog

In one, it’s that whilst people love a swagger & enjoy the “going nuts,” part, they don’t like a swagger to stay one. It has to have more than “nuts” & swagger. A good album, but not a great album?

Old Syzygy.

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Epistocracy is not a new idea. I remember Paul Keating & speech writers discussing John Stuart Mill & Plato at a university round table meet in the late ’80s. The idea was subsequently ditched. Theoretically Jason Brennan has been working on this for a long time.  Ideas like this were put forward in a text book I edited in 1996 which heralded the failure of Social Science as a subject containing the gamut of history studies; economics; legal studies;  geography etc. The civics book in 1999 introduced the theory better for years 8-10.

Pip, it’s not viable because experts, happily dogmatic (& even more now as specialities quadruple+) will still be frustrated by politicians putative crowd-work.  Those who argue against epistocracy are actually well informed citizens (The Vulcans), ‘plainly’ informed citizens & politicians -the latter group rightly accused of compromise blocks. 🙂  Experts with sound political knowledge won’t get traction because telly finds them boring. Technical discussions of consequentialist theory is ratings manure. And Thane knew the discussion so the “do you know what you’re talking about?” was a tad unnecessary.  But it’s all fun & games this arguing, innit? 😉 Not to mention we had a terrific example of compromise block in Tesla’s Night of Terror….

The social sciences hold that modern democracies include a non-instrumental element as significant as its elder brother.

Attempting a top-down “I know & you don’t” isn’t workable. Dippng in & out of vastly competitive, presumed confused & obtuse legislation would produce haphazard results & stand-stills which Brennan & co. admit. Even in their own ‘areas’ experts disagree significantly (less in CC) so generating sensible practicalities is near impossible.

It would go against parliamentary conventions & constitutions. And it would be difficult to work around the slight problem of microcosm politics. Or that these experts would have sufficient knowledge to  avoid the  oft-cited “damage” of current voters leading to spun-out budgets. Ultimately, experts wouldn’t like the consulting-wages & they’d argue over the physics of lighting & colour spectra so “doing their colours,” a la Mrs Hudson,  would cause stop-work.  😀

The Syzygy.

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